Pipe tong



Mmch 11, 1947. G E MULLgNiX 2,41%@85 PIPE ToNG Filed Dec. 15, 1941 lll Patented Mar. 11, 1947 `PIPE TONG Gird E. Mullinix, San Marino, Calif., assignor to Byron Jackson Co., Huntington Park, Calif.,a corporation of Delaware Application December 15, 1941, Serial No.-423,011

Claims. 1

4This invention relates to pipe tongs, and more particularly to that class of pipe tongs known as tubing tongs. Tubing tongs are hand tongs used in the oil industry for screwing and unscrewing tubing in oil wells, oil gathering lines and reiineries. Although tubing tongs will, as a rule, grip but a single size of tubing, they `are often used in preference .to chain tongs which will accommodate a wide range of sizes. The main reason for the use of tubing tongs in preference sizes of tubing.

hand tong, etc.

Chesnut and Richard K. Hertel.

are worn considerably.

been released manually.

tubing.

the tubing. v

tong.

nism. y

Another object is to provide a. bushing which Y 2 can be Areversed when Yworn on one .side .and-which can be replaced with various vsizes of bushings `to accommodate various sizes .of pipe.

Another object is to provide ya bit which will positively grip the pipe and which remains `relatively sharp even when worm down.

Other objects ,and advantages will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. l is an elevational view of the tong head,

This pad or to chain tongs is the greater'speed and ease of Ithe handle of the tong being broken away. voperation of tubing tongs. When making up or Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in horizontal secbreaking out a large number of joints of tubing `tionlthrough the tong taken on line IIwII of Fig. of the same size, the saving in time warrants the 1, the tong being in the closed position on the extra investment in a number of `tongs for single 5. tubing.

The so-called open end `or Fig. `*3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, `but illustratstab on type of tubing Vtong is preferred for ing the relation of the parts when the tong is speed and ease of operation, but such tongs have open and about to be applied to a piece of tubing. heretofore contained one or more objectionable Fig. 4 shows the position .of the locking parts features; such as, slipping on off-size tubing, .20 when thetong is applied loosely to a pipe. h drooping, falling 01T `the tubing when being passed Fig. 5 shows the additional lock releasing around, slipping when worn, crimping the tubing vmeans with which the tong may be equipped lfor under a heavy pull, inability to ratchet, `sever die use as alay tong. wear or chipping, or too great a weight for a Referring more` particularly to the parts as shown in the drawings, I indicates kthe tong head The present invention relates to improvements which comprises a pair of oppositely .disposed in tubing tongs of the type shown in Patent No. prongs or forks 2 and 3 which project in .the di- 2,026,516, issued January 7, 1936, to John D. rection of the longitudinal axisrof the tong llever 4, In `this Way, ,a deep U-shaped socket 5 is It is an object of the present invention to pro- 30 formed `for receiving the .pipe 4or tubing .6. The vide kan open end tubing tong which has, in prong 2 is preferably biiurcated so that `it presents addition to the usual operating requirementsJ a two separate flanges 8, and .between .these iianges wide range of take-up, even when the tong parts an arcuate jaw i is pivotally mounted on a removable bolt or pin I0. This arcuate jaw `9 has Another object is to provide an open-end .35 an outer extension Il with acurved guide lip I2 tong which can be ratchetted but which can not cooperating with .the .opposite prong Y.3 in guiding be removed from the tubing until the lock has the pipe into the socket, .as illustrated .in Fig. 3,

M and beyond this curved lip a .die or bit I3 is pro- Another `object is to provide a stab on tong vided. The bit t3 is retained in place by any which will -not droop when placed on vertical suitable .means `such as ,Cotter keys 'I extending through bosses Ia .at .the ends of the bit slot lb Another object is to provide means for holding and overlying the y.ends of the bit. The bit is the tong jaw in the open position when the tong preferably triangular in sectionand is positioned is removed from the tubing, said holding means so that its leading face Ic-points to the .centerof being releasable upon application of the tong to the pipe. This jaw has means `for ,engaging the y side -of the pipe at two points: at one point the Another object is to provide auxiliary lock rebit I3 kengages the side of the pipe, and at another leasing means to permit easy removal of the tong point on the other side of vthe Apivot bolt I, the from the tubing when the tong is used as a lay other end of the jaw is formed with a Vflat pad .or

, cheek I4 for engaging the pipe,

Another object is to provide attubular handle cheek I4 is formed on the tail portion I5 of the which is both light and strong and which serves jaw and is so positioned that the .point yof conas a housing for spring-pressed plunger mechatact between the pad .and ,the pipe lies .toward the prong 3 from the longitudinal axis of .the :tong head, and is suiciently long to contact pipe which 3 may be as much as e inch over or under size on the diameter. The tail portion I5 is bifur-l cated, forming two fingers I6 and on either side of a recess I8. The linger Il serves as a stop to limit the opening movement of the jaw 9 by striking against the shoulder I9 in the prong 3 (see Fig, 3). The other nger I5 has its en d curved on a Short radius, as indicated at 20, to form a cam surface which enga-ges the plunger 35, as will be described later.

Opposite the curved lip I2, the prong 3 termi? nates in a curved guide lip 2|, which cooperates with the lip I2 to guide the tong into position around the pipe or tubing. When the tong is fully applied to the tubing the periphery of the tubing engages the bit I3 and also engages the pad I4, as illustrated in Fig. 2 .Y In addition, the periphery of the pipe at the point E will engage, with the inner face of a slidable bushing 25 mounted on the prong 3. The three points of contact with the pipe, at E. 'lc and It, are dis tributed around the periphery of the pipe at substantially equal distances. The inner face 26 of the socket 5 is smooth and is disposed at a wedging angle with respect to the pipe. The wedge face 23 is preferably curved on a radius from the center D passing through the center of the pipe and the contact point E. The inner and outer faces 21 and 28, respectively, of the sliding bushing 25, are also formed with curved faces corresponding to the curvature of the socket 5. The center D is determined as follows: a line A-O is drawn through the center of the pipe and the center of the hinge pin I0, to the point of intersection O on the outer periphery of the pipe. A

line O-B is drawn from the point O, so that the included angle A-O-B is approximately 11. An arc C having a radius O-A and a center O is drawn to intersect the line O-B at D. From the point D a line D-E is drawn through the center of the pipe, intersecting the periphery of the pipe at E. An arc Fis drawn from the center D with a redius D-E, this arc being the curvature of the bushing 25 and the face of the socket 5. The curvature of the arc F provides a constant wedge angle of approximately 11 with the arc G whose radius is A-O. That is, the angle between the tangente to the circles whose radii are D-E and A-O, at the point of intersection of the circles, is approximately 11, at all points along the arc F. Obviously, the wedge angle can be somewhat more or less than 11, but I have found that 11 gives the best condition for gripping and releasing. I

The slidable bushing 25 is not essential to the operation of my tong, but with the bushing the tong releases more easily and the wear on the wedge face 26 is greatly reduced because the pressure is distributed over a large area instead of being confined to a mere line contact. Also, thicker or thinner bushings may be substituted for the bushing 25 to accommodate smaller or larger diameter pipe,

The prong 3 is recessed to form a pocket 29 adapted to receive a tail 30 on the under side of the bushing 25. The tail 30 is shorter than the length of the pocket 29 so that it can move back and forth in the pocket about of an inch. The tail is provided with a slot 3| adapted to loosely receive a pin 32, which extends through holes in the prong 3 and retains the bushing 25 slidably in place. The bushing 25 is symmetrical so that it can be reversed when Worn on one side.

With the construction described above, when the tong is placed on a piece of pipe and the 4 handle is swung in the direction of the arrow A, the slidable bushing moves to the rear of the slot 3| as the bushing slides around the periphery of the pipe with a wedging action which forces the bit 3 into gripping engagement with the pipe and thus causes the pipe to be turned. A reverse movement of the lever loosens the wedge and permits the tong to let go of the pipe. With the construction shown it is not necessary to reverse the lever manually. As soon as the operator lets go of the lever it will back up of its own accord until the bushing 30 has moved forward in the slot 3|, because of the steep 11 wedging angle,

thus freeing the tong.

It is desirable that tubing tongs should stay on the pipe while being passed around by the floor crew. In order to keep the tongs on the pipe, I provide a cam plunger 35, which engages the vcam face 20 on the pivoted jaw 9. The plunger 35 is urged toward the cam 2li by a coil compression spring 36 which bears against a seat 31 welded or otherwise secured to or formed in the tubular handle 4. The forward end of the plunger 35 is provided with a cam face 33 which engages the cam 2i] when the jaw i? is in the closed position shown in Fig. 2. The purpose of the cam 38 is to hold the tong up to the pipe so that the tong will not droop or slide down the pipe when being passed around. The cam face 38 is made sufficiently long so that it will contact the cam 20 on the jaw 9 in any position of the jaw which may result from the pipe being le over or under size. Heretofore it has been customary, in a tong of the general type described herein, to exert the spring force on the pivoted jaw in a substantially tangential direction, whereby substantially the full force of the spring exerts a turning moment on the jaw in closing direction. With such a construction, it is apparent that if the spring is of sufcient strength to hold the tong up to the pipe, so that it will not droop or slide down the pipe while being passed around, it necessarily follows that removal of the tong from the pipe is rendered difficult by the necessity of exerting suiicient manual force to retract the relatively strong spring. In order to overcome this difiiculty, I have so arranged the location of the cam face 38 with respect to the direction of sliding movement of the 4plu-nger 35, that a relatively light spring will exert sufficient force on the pivoted jaw 9 to hold the tong snugly on the pipe, thus requiring only slight manual effort to release the tong.

Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will ybe observed that the cam face 38 on the plunger 35 is disposed at an acute Wedge angle of approximately 25 to 30, with respect to the axis of the plunger. The magnitude of this angle is important only in conjunction with the tangent to the arc of swinging movement of the cam surface on the pivoted jaw, with which it determines the spring force required to hold the ltong snugly up to the pipe. I have found it desirable to provide as small a Wedge angle as possible, whereby to reduce the spring force to a minimum, but yetavoiding too close an approach to a wedge angle which would cause the wedge to be self-locking. Obviously, a self-locking wedge would render it impossible to ratchet the tong in back-up direction. I have found that a wedge angle of between 25 and 30 is most satisfactory in the present instance, a median value of 271/2 being preferable. v f

I have also found it particularly desirable tosc dispose the plunger 35 that its aXis, or line of travel, extends on the inner side of the jaw pivoty l-that is, on the side thereof toward the pipe recess. By this arrangement, as the jaw 9 swings about its pivot I3 in a pipe-releasing or clockwise direction, the cam ringer i6 moves downwardly and to the left, as viewed in the drawing. The cam surface 20 on the cam nnger is thus` caused to slide along the cam surface 38 on the plunger 35, toward the tip 39 of the plunger. This relative movement between the cam surfaces has two desirable effects:

(l) The force exerted' by the finger l5 on the plunger is directed more nearly in a direction transverse to the axis of the plunger, instead of along the axis ofthe plunger. This contributes materially to the reduction in spring pressure required to hold the tong snugly on the pipe.

(2) As viewed in the drawing, the horizontal component of the path of movement of the finger i5 is in a left-handl direction, or opposite to the. movement of the plunger, so that these movements are additive. through which the plunger. is required to travel to permit a given arcuate movement of the jaw is considerably less than that which would be required if the plunger axis extended on the outer side of the jaw pivot lll.

It will also be observed, with reference to the Consequently the distance drawing, that the wedge angle between the cam i faces 2@ and 3S is also approximately 25 to 30. This wedge angle is dened by the cam face 38 and a line drawn tangential to the arc of swinging movement o-f the finger i6 at the point of contact with the plunger, this line representing the instantaneous direction of movement of the point of contact. It is to be noted, however, that this wedge angle between the cam faces 2i? and 38 varies for different angular positions of the jaw, and decreases in value as the point of contact between the cam faces approaches the tip of the plunger. In order to avoid a self-locking wedging condition between the cam faces, the minimum value of the wedge angle should be greater than twice the friction angie of these surfaces. For the range of variation in this wedge angle in the present instance, I have found that a median value of about 271/2D is satisfactory.

In order to hold the jaw Si releasably in the open position, as shown in Fig. 3, I provide the plunger with a surface 39 adapted to press against the cam face 20 and hold the tail I- of jaw 9 against the stop shoulder I9. When the pipe strikes the pad i4 the cam 2li is moved off of the surface 39, permitting the spring pressed plunger 35 to move to the operating position shown in Fig. 1.

In order to positively lock the tong against inadvertent removal from the pipe, I provide a small fiat lil on the end of the plunger 35 on the face which has the 27%" wedge angle. The face of this fiat il is substantially parallel to the axis of the plunger. When the tong is around the pipe but not pulled up tight, the cam 2!) on jaw 9 contacts the fiat di, as shown in Fig. 4. The dat 4i on the plunger prevents the plunger from being pushed back against the spring 3b and thus locks the jaw 9 against opening move ment until the plunger has been retracted Inanually.

Two separate means for manually retracting the plunger 35 are shown. Either, or both may be used. The plunger is provided with a stem d3 which extends through a guide hole 44 in the spring seat 31. The stem .43 is provided with a hole to receive a pin 45, which extends laterally through a pairV of oppositely disposed slots 4E formed in the tubular handle 4. A sleeve. il is slidably mounted on the handle l5. The pin 45 extends through holes in the sleeve 41, the end of the pin 45 being riveted or otherwise. secured to the sleeve. When the sleeve lil isv pulled back against the pressure of the spring 36, theA plunger 35 is retracted until the cam 2Q can Dass from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown inFig. 3.

The tubular handle 4 is secured to the tong, body l by any suitable means, such as weidin'g, as indicated at 48 and 49.

A reinforcing tube 50 may be inserted in the tubular handle, if desired, the tube extending from a point inside the body i to a point beyondk the rear end of slots'45.

If it is desired to use the tong as a lay tong., that is, on pipe which is in a horizontal position, as in a ditch or trench, I may provide a. second means for retracting the plunger 35, which means is operated from the end of the handle. As shown in Fig. 5, this auxiliary may be accomplished by extending the plunger stern 43 to the end of the handle as indicated at 5l. The end of the stem extension 5I is secured to a sleeve 52 by any suitable means, such as a pin 53. The sleeve 52 slides in the handle d. The sleeve is preferably provided with corrugations 5d, the outside diameter of which are no greater than .the diameter of the handle, so that a Snipe (a tubular ex tension) can be used on the end. of the handle when necessary.

A pipe tong constructed as described above is light in weight but sufficiently strong to break very tight joints. It is easy on the pipe because of the substantially equal distribution ofthe three contact points, 1c, I4 and E about the pipe. It can be stabbed straight onto the pipe with very little effort. The bit i3 is protected against damage while applying and removing the tong by the action of the releasable locking plunger 35. This minimizes the danger of sparks and in creases the life of the bit. Although the tong handle extends directly away from the opening between the jaws, the tong will maintain itself in the horizontal position on a vertical pipe because of the pressure of the spring pressed cam plunger against the cam on the pivote-d jaw. The tong can not c-ome off the pipe accidentally while being passed around because of the locking flat on the end of the spring pressed plunger. The tong can be used as a lay tong by extending the latch release through to the end of the tubular handle.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is of a preferred embodiment of my tong and that my vinvention is not limited to the specic details described, but is of the scope covered by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pipe tong comprising a handle and a plurality of relatively constrictable pipe-engaging jaws mounted thereon, means pivotally connecting at least one of the jaw members to the handle so that movement of the handle about its pivot tends to constrict said jaws, and means yieldably maintaining the vjaw member which is pivoted to the handle in pipe-engaging position comprising cam means mounted on the handle and having a cam surface wedgingly engaging a cooperating surface on said pivoted jaw member, the effective wedge angle between the cam surface on the cam means and the cooperating surface on said pivoted jaw member being substantially Within the range of 25 to 30, and means resiliently urging the cam means into wedging engagement with said pivoted jaw member.

` 2. In a pipe tong, a handle, a plurality of relatively constrictable pipe-engaging jaws mounted thereon, means pivotally connecting at least one of the jaw members to the handle so that movement of the handle about its pivot tends to constrict said jaws, a plunger slidably mounted on the handle and having a cam surface adapted to wedgingly engage a cooperating surface on said pivoted jaw member, said cam surface being disposed at an angle of approximately 25 to 30 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plunger and contacting the cam surface of said pivoted jaw member at a Wedge angle of approximately 25 to 30, and means resiliently urging the plunger into wedging engagement with said pivoted jaw member to yieldably maintain the jaw member in pipeengaging position.

3. A pipe tong comprising a handle, a plurality of relatively constrictable pipe-engaging jaws mounted thereon, at least one of the jaw mem- `bers being pivotally mounted on the handle so that movement of the handle about its pivot tends to constrict the jaws, spring-pressed plunger means mounted on the handle and having a cam surface adapted to engage the pivoted jaw with a Wedging action, means connected to the plunger means for manually retracting Athe same, said plunger means having a surface at the end thereof extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plunger means and adapted to engage the pivoted jaw to provide a positive lock preventing removal of the tong from the pipe except when the plunger means is manually retracted.

4. A pipe tong comprising a handle having a body rigid therewith, said body having apair of oppositely disposed prongs forming a constantlyopen pipe-receiving socket, an arcuate jaw pivoted to one of said prongs and having two bearing points for engaging the pipe, separated from each other circumferentially and engaging the pipe on opposite sides of aline drawn through ,the pivotal axis of the jaw and the center of the pipe, a pipe-engaging bit carried by the jaw at one of said bearing points, the opposite prong on the body having a smooth Wedge face inclined so as to engage the pipe with a Wedging action when the handle is swung forward, springpressed plunger means mounted on the handle and having a cam surface adapted to wedgingly engage a cooperating surface on the jaw, the effective wedge angle between said cam surface on the cam means and the cooperating surface on said plunger being substantially within the range of 25 to 30.

5. A pipe tong comprising a handle and a plurality of relatively constrictable pipe-engaging jaws mounted thereon, means pivotally connecting at least one of the jaw members to the handle so that movement of the handle about its pivot tends to constrict said jaws, and means yieldably main-taining the jaw member Which is pivoted to the handle in pipe-engaging position comprising cam means mounted on the handle and having a cam surface wedgingly engaging a cooperating surface on said pivoted javr member at a point on that side of the jaw pivot which is toward the pipe-receiving opening, the effective wedge angle between the cam surface on the cam means and 1 the cooperating surface on said pivoted jaw mem- -ber being substantially within the range of 25 t0 30, and means resiliently urging the cam means into wedging engagement with said pivoted member to yieldably maintain said pivoted jaw member in pipe-engaging position.

GIRD E. MULLINIX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,132,146 Allen Mar. 16, 1915 1,640,426 Pike Aug. 30, 1927 874,545 Scribner Dec. 24, 1907 937,959 Richards Oct. 26, 1909 1,068,771 Holmes July 29, 1913 365,019 Phillips June 14, 1887 478,948 Bareis July 12, 1892 714,387 Maxwell Nov. 25, 1902 1,237,659 Lafon Aug. 21, 1917 1,522,804 Carlson Jan. 13, 1925 1,379,482 Spong May 24, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 457,626 British Dec. 2, 1936 

